Looking back at the stories of 2018

As 2018 comes to a close it is that time of the year when the Mountain Home News takes the time to reflect on the happenings of our coverage area. It has been a year of high and lows as we experienced losses, argued about developments in the City of Mountain Home and in Elmore County and celebrated the achievements of individuals and youths in our community.

In the course of one month MHAFB experienced loss more than once. Our communities mourned the loss of a performer during Gunfighter Skies airshow in the beginning of June. At the end of the month the community and the whole state of Idaho was rocked as news came out that three of four fatalities from a tragic car crash on I-84 in Boise were those of Airmen from MHAFB.

Early in the year the city unveiled plans for the revitalization of the downtown corridor. The original plans drew immediate concern from the community with plans to cut parking spots, put a bike lane on Second Street and take Main Street and Second from three lanes to two. At the City Hall meeting where the council voted to adopt the plan, citizens showed up to voice their concerns. After listening to 15 people get up and speak in opposition the city explained that nothing in the plan was set in stone and voted to formally develop the "road map" to the revitalization plan.

In the months since the adoption the Master Plan has continued to evolve and change due to technical items that needed to be worked out and because of concerns from the community. The lane diet is still in place, but roads that were at one time going to change to one way streets will now stay two ways and the bike lane has been moved to another street. The city continues to look for ways to add parking back in wherever possible and were helped in this by the Urban Renewal Agency's decision to purchase the old Hub building and its dirt parking lot beside the Dilly Deli. Recently the URA unveiled their plans to keep the property as part of "the Hub of Mountain Home" which it plans to make a meeting place for the community.

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